triptante, there is word of a guest appearing . i am hoping it is true . i was told about 2 months ago . if it is not to be it will still be a fantastic night. if it is true and he is there.....oh god...sickness~!

Starting with an obviously well rehearsed and tasty Hot Tuna casserol to open things at 6:30, in every way, this was conceived to be a traditional GD show as only the members can make it. No foolin' around this time. The stage was set almost exactly the same, Bobby in the middle and Phil back on stage right. From start to finish, a powerfull and purposefull show! St Stephen/11 opener set the tone as Jimmy introduces St Stephen to NASCAR. Jack Straw brought thunder back to the stage like I hadn't heard since????....and how great was Bobby leadin' Playin' like only he can...especially when his voice is strong and coherent.Mickey animated the whole show, especially for Fire 1st set closer, and Billy clearly enjoying every moment. Nothing special about Happy New Year though, except maybe one of the best IMHO Sugar Mag we've heard in the modern era. Real honest to goodness gut-bustin' Terrapin, interestingly split into two halves. Not a major flub the entire night. 2:30a.m. for a warm and fuzzy Stella Blue (inst)finale. Ears still still ringin'. Hope it lasts a few more hours.

e show very late, got in at 12:45 am during drumz. Great drums, including a late return of billy doing traps against Mickey well into his esoterica-interesting.

Nice to have an Arena with no latent cigarette smoke and confortable seats!

There were fine groove moments including for me, lady with a fan, not fade away and no more do I.

But there was to my ear, a lot of crunches as well. The ins and outs of going from Terapin>Dark Star>Terapin were pretty rough, with a whole tempo and beat negotiation going on between Lesh and the drummers that not always pretty to hear. and then there was this rather funny sequence during the second terapin part, where Weir brought the playing level down to very quiet from a frenzy, and Mickey leaned over his drum set and put his two sticks over his head like some kind of alient being or perhaps a TV set or Mickey Mouse.

Seemed like all the players had fun and listened to each other. But it was not done with the finesse of the 12/6/02 H J Kaiser show. One the other hand, it was a generous show from what I could tell, where in someways, the energy of the band, out played the audience.

No More Do I was done as a beautiful song with a consistent groove to it, a Kreutzman Hart groove quite different than the explosive interpretation given in PL+F with its more frantic, dynamic playing. It was a great dancible version, different from the dramatic version done by PL+F and sung by Haynes last NYE.

i was "floored" by the night. Great event. only "quip" i would have mm&w, instead give me jack johnson , moe. .... just my opionion. had great thyme . think the light show while overall was trippy i could do with less still slides (that at times were repetitive) . enjoyed seeing the dancin' bear up in the upper row. very corporate venue, unlike Kaiser or Greek. i was fried in the section in the back with nice view and sound despite a low mix on the B3 (sorry Jeff you didn't sound ) . mellow but electric parking lot (north). very nice........better than 2001? sorry, but it is difficult to compare so i'll say would have not missed it, and different from last year (IMHO).

I'm glad I spent the loot to go down for the show- First, my main complaint: poor ingress/egress from the venue- many of us walked from the hotels nearby only to find no sidewalks (walking basically along the side of a freeway) and locked security fences with no way to get into the parking lots except walking a hell of a long way around- or in the case of most- scaling the fences to climb over. Then I was told I needed a permit to be in that area of the parking lot (on foot)- I guess they have special permits for the privilege of climbing over the fences but GDTSTOO must've forgotten to send those with the tickets... My runner up complaint: the $20 I spent on WATER throughout the evening (no, you couldn't bring your own in), the sad part is I would've spent even more but they stopped selling water with over an hour to go 'till the last note.

OK- now that I have gotten that off my chest- I walked in during HT's set- (missed the start due to the harrowing entry antics) and found lots of space on the floor to sway with eyes closed while entranced by the soulfoul spirit flowing through Jorma & Jack- they were ON in a big way and in many ways were my highlight of the evening. I doubt the audience recordings sound very good though because the place was pretty empty and the sound was booming around.

MMW was interesting at moments, boring at others. They may be on to something if they keep refining their approach. They were best with the horn section, and flat at other times. The folks down front seemed to be enjoying it more.

The place was pretty packed by the time TOO was playing- I tested the floor but made a hasty retreat as it was nuts down there- a GA free for all that scared me a bit- too many people in one place. I couldn't see anything and the body odor was getting pretty funky (nowhere near as bad as a Phish crowd though). I found sweet refuge in the upper level, straight on to the stage, with plenty of room to dance and our own personal set of speakers pointing right at us and a bathroom right outside the door.

TOO started off with my personal favorite, Stephen-it was smokin' from the get-go and rock-solid. I went to the bathroom during the Eleven- I just never liked that song for some reason, but it sure was high-energy chaos. Some drunk British guy decided to be the bathroom police so I called him a Canadian- he didn't like that. Unbroken was a treat- my first live version. Jackstraw was solid and had everyone dancing. TOO was firing on all cylinders until Scarlet, which was too slow and pretty lackluster, as was Fire- I know it's Mickey's tune, but geeze man, you know?

Second set- started with fun but whimpy pyrotechnics- flames shooting from the stage, some fireworks, a modest amount of balloons... but a ROCKIN' Sugar Mag- oh man- and then they turned up the fun-o-meter even higher with the downright funkiest Shakedown that even had a vocal breakdown section a la KC & the Sunshine Band "shake it down, shake it down, shake it down now..." that had me laughing hard and rump-swaying in seriously good time...

Cryptical>Other One was flawless and TOO was fucking ferocious! Psychic shrapnel flying everywhere as it was bursting at the seams- one of the best TOO's I've heard... The drums>Space was excellent- very fluid & palpable- not the chaotic and meaningless crap that the Dead ended up repeating night after night in the 90's...

The Lady With A Fan was very sweet- Phil's vocals were shining- and then right at the point they would have hit the "Inspiration..." line they veered smoothly into Darkstar- the jam between the verses tore apart and was reminiscent of an early 70's Darkstar jam for a few minutes- very nice- then back into the next verse- a great treat- I thought Bob's vocals were exceptionally strong on this one as they traded lines in P&F fashion.

The transition back into Terrapin was rough but worth the birthing pain as they really hit it hard and it was fun as they left out the "Terrapin..." vocals for the audience to sing. At the end of Terrapin Phil was lobbying hard with the bass run for Golden Road- which would have made me cream my shorts, but Bobby grabbed the wheel and veered into Throwing Stones- I hit the bathroom, but came back to find the place going absolutely nuts with a seriously hard-rockin' version. NFA was a bit of a let down energetically and the crowd was very out of synch at the end as the drums faded away-

The sweet multi-tune encore set was an interesting choice of tunes. The Caution jam got me excited, only to turn much too quickly into a middle of the road version of Rider, then a clunky No More Do I, before they got it together for a gorgeous Baby Blue. The Stella instrumental was a perfect capper and an emotional nod to Jerry- Jimmy's volume swells and string bends where right on and the place really unified energetically during this tune. Mickey had the last words as he said "...now take this good energy outside and do something good with it- Happy New Year!".

Overall the sound was fine- they had the place pretty rigged up so no complaints from me. It was definitely the Jimmy Herring Show- he was front & center in the mix. I could hear Jeff's organ ok from where I was, but Bobby's guitar, as usual was there but not there... that still freaks me out after all these years- oh, and Mickey's eyebrows too.

I must put in a good word for the Wharf Rats meetings during set breaks- a great community of good people that filled my heart right up. And to the people who tried to pour beer on the meeting from the second level stairs- Namaste

Overall, I thought the show was pretty damned fun. Could be the combination of things ingested, but I know it rocked! First set seemed a bit tighter. St. Stephen>Eleven was great, Jack Straw (which I had yet to see TOO do) was superb - really rocked. Unbroken sounded nice, but was distracted by the jerkoffs who wouldn't get the hell out of the aisle up to the Club Level, causing people to have to veer into the aisles just to get around them (get a clue, you lamebrains! - aisles are for walking, not hanging! - go find a shitty seat, if you have to). Rest of the first set seemed pretty nice (Playin' kind of fuzzy now, as was the Scarlet). Remember some nice Garcia-like envelope filter tones from Jimmy during Fire (which Mickey didn't totally bum me out on).

Thought the GD NYE show history review was cool for the leadup to the countdown - though I wish I'd followed it a bit closer - too much stuff going on around me. The fireworks and stuff were a wee bit tacky, but I enjoyed Wavy and whoever else that was on stage in diapers (is that what they were wearing?). Still, I always have a bit of trouble with the whole countdown thing - seems somewhat anticlimactic at times.

Hot Sugar Mag (which could've been expected). The Shakedown was fantastic and the place seemed like it was really rocking. Cryptical->Other One was on fire - I dug Phil's gesturing to the band to pick up the pace for TOO, and then they really rocked out - furious!!! Drums were pretty hot - though wouldn't mind a bit more Billy, like they did on 12/6 (his little solo that made Mickey stand back). Terrapin started really sweetly, and Phil didn't mess up the verses (no solo) as I believe he did on 12/6 - however, it did seem that none of the other band members were clear that he was going to lead them into Dark Star again. However, once he did, it sounded really sweet. Nice space in the middle, before they resumed the 2nd verse. Thought the Throwing Stones was really good (it's been a while - don't see Ratdog much), and, once again, the song seems really appropriate given the current global situation (seems to happen every 10 years or so, huh?). NFA - can't really recall what I thought.

Then the lights came on a bit, and I almosted wondered if there would be no encore (sorry, I was out of it and focused on something else). Thought Caution was OK, and Rider not exceptional, but not bad. No More Do I sounded pretty nice. Baby Blue was really a nice treat, and the Stella Blue instrumental sounded great - a fitting tribute to "The Man" to close a fabulous show.

Thought the lights were really trippy (duh, wonder why?) and overall a really great show. Oh, Hot Tuna were great, as always, and I thought MMW had their smokin' moments (liked the Hendrix "Fire" section - as well as a bunch of others).

Overall, I can't complain about a thing. Saw six shows in the last five nights, and this was by far the topper.

Very good show NYE. The entire first set through “Playin’” featured superb guitar work by Jimmy Herring: melodically inventive, harmonically interesting, and played with a warmer, less cutting tone. From the first notes of “St. Stephen”, he stepped waaaaaay out front and led the band, instead of lying back and shading the sound with little fills and runs of speed licks. The entire band locked into a huge groove for “St. Stephen>Eleven” that felt positively Primal at times, and they kept up the momentum through “Playin’”. Jimmy had a bit of trouble finding something interesting to play during “Scarlet”, and the energy flagged a bit. “Scarlet>Fire” was OK, but it was a step down from the intensity of the first part of the set. IMO.

The second set had some flat spots punctuating the jams. In general, however, the group improvisation NYE was more interesting than during either of the two Kaiser shows several weeks ago, due in large measure to Jimmy’s more confident playing. For me, the highlight of the set was a superb “Shakedown>Cryptical>Other One>Drumz>Space”. Kudos to Mickey for making some EPIC noise during drumz! The song list for the last half of set II had a kind of deliberate “NYE extravaganza” feel to it. I’ll probably get flamed for this, but to me it seemed like “Dark Star” was unneccessarily shoehorned into the mini Terrapin suite just to make the setlist look like "one for the ages". Given that TOO played both “Cryptical>OO” and “Dark Star” during the Kaiser run, it would have been fun to get something Completely Different (like WRS>Let it Grow???). Aside from these quibbles (complaining about getting “Dark Star”! LOL!), I really enjoyed the music. Great meltdown jam in "Dark Star".

The extended encore was excellent. “Caution jam>Rider”! I thought NMDI was nicely done. Warren’s vox were missed, of course, as was the Jimmy-Warren interplay, but the TOO version cooked along and I’m glad that this song isn’t going to lie fallow until Phil tours with the PLQ. The instrumental “Stella” was a nice tribute to Jerry, and “Baby Blue” brought the whole evening to an emotionally satisfying close. By this time, I were barely hanging on to consciousness and ready to hit the hay.

I originally had misgivings about the $75 ticket price for the show, but now I feel like I got good value for my money. We got about 8 hours of very solid to excellent music. Both Hot Tuna and MMW were great choices for the bill. Jorma and Jack are a national treasure. The intimacy of their playing (and clear sound) turned the Oakland Arena into a giant living room. I’ve been listening to MMW on disc for years, but hadn’t seen them live until last night. These guys can get a monster rhythmic groove going, but there were long stretches of groove for it’s own sake. I found myself fantasizing about soloists who could sit in with MMW. John Scofield has played with them in the past. Greg Osby would sound great with them. Miles would be a lot of fun, too, but he’s not available.

In all, I left the Oakland Arena a happy man. I was disappointed by the Kaiser shows, and the thought of TOOv3 replacing the PLQ as Phil's gig for the forseeable future was downright depressing back in early December. What a difference a (good) show can make! Happy New Year! Oh yeah: 2003 PLQ spring tour!

"I originally had misgivings about the $75 ticket price for the show, but now I feel like I got good value for my money."

Jeffrey, great assesment of a great night! had a wonderful night and would have regreted not going to it. she & i talked earlier today about the good time and yet agreed that if GDSTOO increases the price again soon we would probably not go. $75/$80 THE max. I would rather have had the first act Acoustic Hot Tuna followed later with the second act (Electric Hot Tuna) and then TOO for the same 3 sets they played. and charge $60 bucks.

>a Kreutzman Hart groove quite different than the explosive interpretation given in PL+F

>then a clunky No More Do I, before they got it together for a gorgeous Baby Blue.

If you have a copy of an "explosive" No More Do I please let me know what show...I wonder how I missed it...and I am having a really difficult time imagining it clunky also...but, hey, I don't listen that hard.

Had a copy of some Other Ones show in the car the other day and there was the whole tease/intro to this tune.

Taperrob said it was an amazing show. Gotta believe him, and so good to hear that everyone had such a good time.

Hail Skins, when they played that NYE it blew my socks off ~! What a suprise.

Jeff, i hear you on one hand but you never know in advance . i suppose any dead show is worth it. but how about 2 nights next nye with only 2 headline acts, start it at 7 30 PM (go to 2:30 A.M.) and charge $60? No ClearChannel "Corporate Security" venue

I was wondering if someone could comment on MMW's set a little more--I was curious to see them as an opening band for the Other Ones---did jimmy or anyone sit in with them--an inquiring mmw fan would love to know!!!

very nice reviews so far. i also greatly enjoyed the show and thought the $81 bucks was pretty much worth it, especially with the incredible energy all around as the boys came out for their first set. the playing was stellar, jimmy is truly a guitar god, and watching/hearing the interplay between the whole band was a joy. on the other side, mickey should never be allowed to sing and jeff chimenti was pretty darn silent in the mix all night. since others have covered the song list, i'll toss out some random observations.

right before midnight, we got a nice little history of the dead at new years with pix of the various incarnations of father time and some notes on where jimmy, rob and jeff were as those nye's shows were taking place. i.e. jimmy got his first guitar in '74 or '75 (my how quickly the brain forgets!)

i got a very distinct feeling toward the end of the night after the little history lesson prior to the big countdown that the four original members were thanking us and also saying farewell. the not fade away and the tone of the history of new years from the dead just gave me that sense. it really felt like they were rocking out and enjoying each other's company, but that they wouldn't be doing this on any type of permanent basis. whatever. just my sense of things.

toward the end of the night, phil turned around and put his foot on billy's drum riser, totally locking in with the drummers. after about one measure, bob noticed this and turned around, got closer to phil, and the four original guys just played there with each other for the rest of the song. very cool. saw jimmy and rob exchange big smiles as they both looked over at the mickey, billy, bobby and phil rocking together. a sweet moment i hope someone captured on film.

the crowd was lovely all around us. met some kind folks. we were in our normal spot on the floor, got in early, and cracked up at the seats filling up first. gotta love the older "damn... i gotta get off my feat" crowd.

flame alert! i thought the show was great fun, but felt that it had more of nostalgia bent than an exploratory bent. i blame phil and friends, but i really miss the exploration. so often in the night, i knew exactly when the jam would end because that's typically how the dead did it. the return to the band playing the song chords behind one lead guitar seemed so old-fashioned after the wicked interplay found in phil and friends. that's not a bad thing. it just didn't capture my attention and hold it.

>Not exactly what some of us thought would be cool...Just the 4 on stage..but glad ya noticed cinderoo and passed it along..

ok. i see i didn't write that clearly. the four weren't on the stage by themselves. they just got in a little huddle around the drums, backs to the audience, looking only at each other as the song was being played. what song was it? good lord, i don't remember. anyone else see that?

"Henduck" i got 2 of thier cd' s from the library b4 NYE so i could get aquainted. So being a sort of virgin listener to them i was bored with most of it but especially the first 2 songs. Things did pick up with the spacey jam starting at around the 3rd or 4th number. i was most impressed by the drummer's vertuocity. i belieeeeeeve thier were some back up musicans with the as well. i want to find out why/who made decision to switch the line up with MMW as 2nd and not the opener.

I agree i got not "Jeff" sound in our section seats (104) in the back right. Phil was hot all night. No "PHil Bombs" on Jack Straw as you would expect after the jam, rather Jimmy wailed the lead at that spot.

MMW was more jazzy than expected. I enjoyed them much more this time than I did when I saw them in rochester a few years back. The crowd seemed to react most during the cover tunes: Lively Up Yourself and Fire. However the organ feedback distortion got on my nerves after the first couple of songs. The set was juicy but by no means what MMW are capable of playing. The horn section was definately a treat.

TOO was fantastic....thought it was worth every penny by the opening notes of the eleven. I was in pure ectasy. The show was almost too much with one epic song after another.

The fans around us were again not to my liking (I'm sorry to even have to express this)...I seem to find the bad sections: a guy did lines of coke off my wife's jacket during shakedown (maybe he had too much too fast) She didn't tell me until after the show but it sure explained why she was in such a foul mood during the second set. And at the second night at the kaiser a couple was having sex behind us with their friend annoucing their current activities. My wife has since declined to go to any more shows with me...as she does not feel comfortable...imagine that!

Regardless, I had a fantastic time. Tuna was solid, MMW was shorter than I expected and TOO was on fire.

Hey Rob...my cell fell in a puddle and stayed there...not much action going on ...No More Do I is a phenomenal song...and the Philheads were spread far and wide this NYE for sure. Just heard Galatic in SF was great, Rads in NOLA were fabulous...Mule was very very cool.

Cinderoo, loved your comments. They sound right on the money for sure, as I listen to Shakedown right now.

The Grateful Dead New Years Eve history, transcribed as best as I can:

narrated by Peter Coyote (from what a few people have told me)

The first NYE party held at the Fillmore Auditoriumin 1966, featuring The Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Grateful Dead and The Jefferson Airplane. At that first NYE party, a tradition was born. Thats when it all began. There was Uncle Bill at the wheel. Where were you?

NYE 1967-Billy and the crew were stuck in Omaha. Jimmy Herring was only 5. Jeff Chimenti wasn't even born yet.

NYE 1968-GD played Winterland w/Santana, It's a Beautiful Day, and The Quicksilver Messenger Service. NYE baby made its 1st entrance riding thru the crowd on horseback.

NYE 1969-GD played in Boston @ The Boston Tea Party, the only time GD played outside the Bay Area on NYE.

NYE 1970-Winterland : Stone Ground, NRPS, Hot Tuna, & the Dead

NYE 1971-Winterland : Yogi Phlegm, NRPS, & the Dead

NYE 1972-Winterland : the Sons of Champlin, NRPS, & the Dead

NYE 1973-Cow Palace : Jerry and Billy sat in with The Allman Brothers Band

NYE 1974-the Dead did not play. The year Rob Baracco started playing piano.

NYE 1975-the Dead did not play. The year Jimmy Herring got his first guitar.

NYE 1976-Cow Palace : Soundhole, Santana & the Dead. Bill Graham as Father Time appeared out of a giant hourglass.

NYE 1977-Winterland : NRPS, & the Dead. Father Time rode out the old year on a motorcycle, flying over the crowd, throwing out the old year, riding down to the stage where the New Year was waiting to be born.

NYE 1978-The Closing of Winterland : NRPS, the Blues Brothers, & the Dead. Father Time rode out the old year on the worlds largest joint.

NYE 1979-Oakland Auditorium : Richard Olson, the Flying Karamozov Brothers, & the Dead. A coccoon, flying out of a hippie truck, Father Time morphs into a butterfly, only to be captured at midnight by a giant butterfly net.

NYE 1981-Oakland Auditorium : NRPS, & the Dead. Father Time flying into the New Year on the USS Columbia.

NYE 1982-Oakland Auditorium : Batucaje, the Dinosaurs, & the Dead. Father Time on a giant mushroom.

NYE 1983-SF Civic Auditorium : Mike Henderson, The Band, & the Dead. Father Time floats across the room, above the crowd, sitting on top of the world.

NYE 1984-SF Civic Auditorium : The Brass Band, The Bobs, & the Dead. Father Time rides out the year on a giant lazy lightning bolt.

NYE 1985-Oakland Arena : The Neville Brothers, Baba Olatunji, & the Dead. Father Time rides it out on a giant birthday cake.

NYE 1986-Henry J Kaiser : David Crosby, The Neville Brothers, & the Dead. Father Time flies in as a giant eagle.

NYE 1987-Oakland Arena : Mason Williams, The Neville Brothers, The Looters, & the Dead. Father Time, joined by a cast of pranksters, riding out the old year on the Golden Gate Bridge.

NYE 1988-Oakland Arena : Tom Tom Club, Peter Applebaum and the Hieroglyphics, & the Dead. Father Time rocks out the old year on top of a giant mirrored ball.

NYE 1989-Oakland Arena : Bonnie Raitt, New Grass Revival, & the Dead. Father Time hatched the New Year.

NYE 1990-Oakland Arena : Rebirth Brass Band, Branford Marsalis, & the Dead. Father Time appears on a giant island of paradise, lowered to the ground, where he beat out the old year with a giant bone. Sadly this was the final apperance of Father Time. Cheers to you Uncle Bill.

NYE 1991-Oakland Arena : Baba Olatunji, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, & the Dead. Just before midnight, the mirrored ball from Winterland rose up from the crowd, suspended in the air, and a giant lightning bolt electrified in the New Year.

NYE 2001-Henry J Kaiser : Derek Trucks Band, Ratdog, a set by Phil Lesh and Friends. At midnight, for the first time in many a year, Billy, Bobby, Phil & Mickey came together as Crusader Rabbit, 36 years and a long strange trip later.

Wow, very cool...anyone have the acoustic Mule from 2000...I only ask because we were delayed getting to the West Coast because of a 45 inch blizzard and I didn't go in till Phil was just onstage...Have a funny feeling this was good, as it kept me off the Mule bus for a bit...saving me money and keeping me off the road.

Nice show you all saw for sure...that retrospective kind of goes hand in hand with Cinderoo's gut feelings.

Well, I had an hour nap after work today, and so perhaps I can keep my bleary eyes open to jot a few words of reaction to NYE--could barely keep my eyes open on the way home from work today, after staying up for NYE, and then flying the New Year's Day, and arriving JFK at 11:30 pm, bed at 12:30, woke at 5:30a.m. for work!

As i mentioned before, we had a saga coming out from JFK to Cali. Spent an ungodly 24 hours on the freezing floor of the airport on Christmas night--and then found out that AA had lost our luggage for 2 whole days! Need I say that the time spent in Santa Cruz with my best friend was much appreciated? I fell even more in love with the area than before, and will make it a long term goal to move out to the area.

The show itself-- Got situated near the taping section, where we promptly ran into Taperrob! Great to see him, great energy. He promptly connected us with JMoore, who wowed us with his tales of Hobie sailing in exotic spots. Never got to meet up with my friend AckX, since she was off in never never land having TOO MUCH FUN!!

Traveled to the floor for Hot Tuna, which i enjoyed immensely. I had seen Jorma several times this past summer with Phil and Friends, and my reaction was that seeing him acoustic in such large venues was challenging. This, however, was poifect. Then, a break, and explored the venue. MMW was surprisingly appealing, but i coulda done with less of them, more of TOO or HT.

TOO!! You know, at the risk of sounding like a dingbat, I often find myself with my hands up in the air soaking it all in-- and i can't help but compare this to watching the devout in church services. Rapture comes to us in many ways. The sound, vibes, energy, music just surrounded me and my arms were open to absorb it all.. I looked at my friend, (who has not seen much dead related music lately) and she looked at me, and as she shook her head with amazement at the music, I watched her face be stolen offa her pretty little head and be blown away to never never land.

Random impression: about 11:45, the pre-second set NYE history powerpoint thing began--it was hard to take it seriously at points, because it was so circus big tent style, announcer had a game show voice, but then i was just overcome with how much HISTORY has taken place to bring TOO and friends to the present-- the slides of the band, complete with JERRY slides, interspersed. Seeing the Jerry slides were like a "oh no" pang, and then a "awwww...." like seeing a long lost relative in a dream-- ("don't leave so soon, friend") First time I've noticed anyone inserting a Jerry ANYTHING, besides the unspoken instrumental Stella in Albany (and then NYE). To me, it felt like a recognition of something resembeling acceptance.

For an explosive version of No More Do I, I was thinking of the version at HJ Kaiser on 12/31/2001-2002 and earlier versions where Haynes (I think) does a 3 note glissando run that sets up the intro jam and the end of the mid song jam - an arrangement abandoned on the CD and subsequent performances (and not present at the TOO performance either).

Yeah, I too saw that 4 way huddle of lesh and weir around the drummers. Intense. Great that they really go into the sheer fun of playing together. Compare that to the typical later period, non moving, non emoting Dead as seen the videos (View from the Vault I, II and III put out by GD productions) and you'd think these guys were in the first your of their new hot band, which in a way they are!

No More Do I was a much greater song before the album came out. The fast paced jam they used to do prior to that was great. However, it's still one of the 'thumbs up' songs from There And Back Again IMHO.

>>>>Seemed like all the players had fun and listened to each other. But it was not done with the finesse of the 12/6/02 H J Kaiser show

It seems the folks I talked to thought otherwise......

"Was this the same band I saw a month ago at the Kaiser?" was a comment from a friend of Pukewedan......

My wife and myself, along with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend, all had a Grate time at the show, soooooooooooo many good moments.

Took the BART from downtown SF where we were hanging since 12-27, details of the entire trip to be posted later, p.s. I met the guy with the twirling light his name is Rob, photo coming soon . We walked across to the Arena where we found a small Shakedown near the line of people waiting to get in on the north side. Did some shopping for chocolates and magic veggies, had plenty of nuggets thanks to my new friend at Golden Gate Park, another story behind that one .

We had plenty of supplies to enter with, so why not start the party now waiting on the line? As we’re waiting and eating our chocolates the line starts moving heading towards the doors. We get to the ramp and the line stops moving, I look back to see another group of people heading towards another set of doors while still another group of people are corralled into a staging area, where they wait until our group enters the Arena. As we approach the doors I think the ticket takers gave up on searching people, my friend Bert say’s “We could have brought a 3 foot bong in with us.”

As we went downstairs looking for a place to call home for the evening, I notice that people are quickly covering the floor, and we got in early. We found four seats close enough to get down and roam on the floor when the mood hits you. This show had a wide variety of people from all walks of life, many heads who looked like they were HOME again. This was the feeling that prevailed throughout the night for me, it was like a giant homecoming party for the phans, and we were loving it.

The music seemed to start quickly, Jorma and Jack opening the night with some acoustic tunes, nice and mellow, almost turning the Arena into an intimate setting at times.

Here is their set list: That’ll Never Happen No More Blue Railroad Train New Song For The Morning I See The Light Do Not Go Gentle Serpent Of Dreams Embryonic Journey Good Shepherd San Francisco Bay Blues I Am The Light Of This World Just Because

And as usual we had an awesome time taking in the whole scene, my first time to CA for any show, with the exception of The David Grisman Experience that we saw on Sunday Night 8:00 show in Berkeley at the Freight and Storage I think it’s called, but that’s another story.

During what seemed like a long break, I went for a walk to take in the sight seeing where the food service and wine bar were located. What a freaky environment, I was having a grate time watching it all roll by, talking with strangers (my favorite part), drinking and eating, making eye contact with a nod of acknowledgement and a smile that FUN was being had by one and all.

MMW comes on and played some pretty cool stuff. Not familiar with them at all, but we enjoyed the grooving tunes that they played.

Back to the refreshments and people watching area for a while, and then back to our seats so as not to miss anything.

And then the main attraction, by this time everyone is more than ready, St. Stephen kicks off the show and I’m thinking here we go it’s New Years Fuck’n Eve! The place starts jump’n and the crowd lets out the classic St. Stephen scream. When Jack Straw came on I was seeing the same visuals as I did during St. Stephen, a minor mental check. Another visual screw-up occurred during the beginning of the second set where the side panels were not lit, aside from that the visual entertainment was fun to watch. It was at this time that I looked up to see the guy with the twirling light walking around on the third level. My wife pokes me and points up to him, I turn to her and say I’m going to get a picture. The story of me meeting Rob will be posted when I get the pictures back. Not going into every song, the first set was a typical set – no surprises. I love hearing Scarlet Begonias cause I get to walk up to a stranger and shake their hand – usually they know what’s going on.

The NYE history between the sets was a lot of Grate information, too much for me to absorb – excellent job Taperrob and thanks for posting all of it here. As I’m all smiles for having met the guy with the twirling light, I turn to my wife and let her know that I’m going out to take some more pics. I’m entering the refreshment area and what the hell do I see but Rob, Wavy Gravy and Wavy’s friend heading right towards me. I try to get my camera opened and turned on but I’m not quick enough. By the time they walk past me I think to myself that if I follow them to wherever they are going I can get a pic. So down the stairs we go as people are reaching out to shake Wavy’ hand and others are whispering “hey – that’s Wavy Gravy”. I followed them down to the floor, through a throng of people trying to get up the stairs for a drink, and I realize that I’m too freaking close to get a picture. I was riding in the wake of Wavy’s friend trying to get around them, but it’s pretty hard to get around Wavy . We get to the railing by the stage and only Rob and Wavy are allowed back there. I think that father time might have been Rob, and Wavy was the New Year baby wearing diapers. The fireworks were OK, any fireworks is better than no fireworks.

Since this is getting too long I will quit here and continue with the escapades of my San Francisco Trip starting with the second set at a later time.

Just wanted to add that Lady With a Fan and No More Do I were both a real treat for me.

brick, if it wasn't i'd be suprised. the floor from what i heard was packed like sardines. but the venue inside walkway/consession/tshirt areas had lots of dancin room and restareas were not overcrowded. didn't see many lines anywhere.

Thanks to all of you that left such great and detailed reviews from the NYE show!!!!! Even though I was unable to make it (other than in spirit), I have an absolute understanding as to how it all unfolded... Isn't this is what it's all about???!!! Thanks again!

Sold Out? I'm not sure, but the Arena seemed full. Ticketmaster type tickets were for sale everywhere in the lot for a $60 asking price, but many miracle seekers were looking for better deals. In addition to glass pipes and shirts, nuggets and shrooms were offered in abundance in the shakedown strip of vendors. At 7:00pm, vehicle traffic into the parking lots was light; no wait. At 8:00pm, head traffic into the venue was light; no lines to speak of. Security was mellow and relatively pleasant.

Upon entry, the security was still allowing floor access, but the floor was jam-packed even in the corners. Dumb luck landed me in a prime "Friends & Family" (of which I am neither) reserved seating area, on the Phil side, for the entire TOO show. That was sweet.

The St. Stephen opener was well received and well played and placed the night's vibe in a beautiful place. The Eleven that followed was predictable and when Weir started singing the overall energy dropped considerably. The energy was regained with a solid Jackstraw. Unbroken Chain put many asses in seats until the jam part, which was well played. The Playin' which followed was easily the peak of the first set; a great Playin' in the Band with a full-on Playin' jam. Scarlet Begonias, my all-time favorite tune ever, just didn't get *there* for me. Mickey's Fire was just okay. I expected a Playin' reprise to come next, but how could Mickey's heartfelt singing be topped?

The 15 minute "count-down" powerpoint narration was palatable and displayed the history of GD NYEs leading up to this one with many interesting factoids. All of a sudden, it was Mickey doing the 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1...midnight count-down.

The high energy Sugar Magnolia start of 2003 was just what the doctor ordered with jelly-bean colored balloons slowly dropping from the ceiling to the madness below. A full-on Sugar Mag w/SSDD carried the magic of the evening into Shakedown Street. As good as Shakedown was with the group singing as a whole at its end, it may have been the low point of the midnight set. Cryptical was as strong as ever leading up to the peak of the night for me. The Other One started with Phil yelling and motioning toward the drummers to pick-it-up and they surely did just that. The bass and drums were so strong in the beginning of TOO and the rest of the band followed accordingly into a wild and well jammed out Other One. TOO f#cking cranked hard and long into a nice high energy Drumz. Drums wound down with Mickey and his magic wand getting real funky which smoothly evolved into a little space jam. Phil's Terrapin began once both drummers returned from their short break. Terrapin was as good as it could be. Instead of heading into the "Inspiration" crescendo, Darkstar smoothly evolved with Phil clearly leading the transition. After a long well played Darkstar, Phil lead the band back to finish off Terrapin Station in grand fashion, not forced. Throwin' Stones was played with conviction and well received. They abrubtly started NFA and it rocked.

After about 5 minutes, the band reurned to the stage and started a murky sounding jam which evolved into a muddy Caution Jam which melded into I Know You Rider, which was just okay. Phil's No More Do I, easily the biggest surprise of the night, was well played. Bob's Baby Blue was okay and well received by the crowd. Baby Blue should have ended the night, but after a brief pause the Stella Instrumental was going. Nothing good can be said about this Stella Instrumental, but at the time it didn't damage what had just gone down whatsoever.

>>non emoting Dead as seen the videos (View from the Vault I, II and III<<

Actually- View 3 has a great moment in the first set with Jerry looking across the stage fondly at Bobby when Bob goes into some of his hyena screeches and Jerry burst out laughing... I love View 3- best of the views thus far

I was thinking that this NYE show would make a nice release of some sort... any thoughts on that idea folks? I wouldn't mind hearing a nice fat mutlitrack remix of most of the evening.

Hurricane - many, many thanks to you for the seats (I needed a spot to sit at times, and you delivered the goods). Your's will be the next round of vids out the door (you'll be very impressed, I assure you).

An amazing night of music all the way around. I expected to be a bit let down after the previous of getting my MULE, but this was every bit as good. I still can't believe it. I saw Weir twice in 10 days and he didn't bother me for a single second either time.

I ventured in with Mrs B about 8PM. Pukewedan had saved us to great seats right in the far corner to the right side of the stage in row L, directly even in height with the speakers. Good sound & perfect sightlines too.

We even had nice neighbors at first, but they left to go to the floor & were replaced by the typical East Coast stereotype kids (do I sound West Coast or what, dude?). I asked them about 5 times to "Please be quiet" with no results in the first set, then turned around (their friends were behind them) and told them "SHUT THE HELL UP!" Not another peep from them all night.

We got in & saw about 1/2 an hour of MMW. At first, I thought they weren't bad. Then, just as many like Carlin & SJF predicted they would, they "Bored the hell out of me." Structured like a 'poor man's version of ELP', they were OK when the bass player did his 'lead bass' parts, but other than those times, he just kept playing the same bass line over & over. Even the horns didn't help much, the music was just all so similar....

Funny, on the way home, we saw a young lady with a TOO's poster at our gate to board our flight. I just happened to sit next to her, so I asked her if she was at the show. Turned out she was MMW's 'manager'. She asked me how I liked them. I diplomatically dodged the truth by saying "I didn't see much, & Deadheads are a strange concert going group, most of them only care about the main event." I almost felt like I owed her the truth during the entire flight back, but I figured that if everyone I talked with thought the same thing, they probably know it already.....

There really isn't much to say other than 'read the setlist', as everything was contained within the songs for the most part, but I'll try....

They opened with a short 'jam' which was more of a noodling that lasted 30-45 seconds, then St Stephen. I thought it took the 1st verse before they were in the groove. Stephen was very similar to the Boston version last month: Fast, shorter, less climactic jam at the end (but still good), followed by a 2nd jam of St Stephen after the final words. It was powerful & headed into The Eleven after a good while.

Who doesn't like The Eleven? Oh, someone above said they didn't. My condolences.

I was surprised that the lyrics were done Phil's way, with Bob singing Rob's part while Phil & Rob did the alternating 'number' verses. They did sing it a 2nd time after a few minutes, & Bob threw in some cheesey "Corral sands below....BELOOOW......BELOOOW." lyrics, but it was not that bad. I would disagree that the lyrics hurt the momentum at all.

It was a very good start, & the 2 songs were played together as us 'traditionalists' prefer.

You could hear Jack Straw coming a mile away, & it was good, but not great. I thought they cut the end short a bit, but my mind was a bit foggy at this point from a couple of large glasses of wine on an empty stomach before entering.

Then, Unbroken Chain (from a stop), & at this point, I knew we were gettin it all tonight.

UBC was very good, but not great. Certainly not in a class with the Hartford TOO's version, not to mention P&F's classic Jones Beach version this summer.

It was structured more like P&F's early versions where there's the harder, guitar driven instrumental followed by the mellower piano part. They did do the jam out like P&F's been doing for the past year or so, & headed into Playin'.

Playin' was good, but pretty short, & I was hoping for a long version. They stayed in the Playin' theme for about 3,4, maybe 5 minutes & headed off into some space, then picked up the tempo & headed into Scarlet.

Scarlet was fast (good for me), faster than P&F, with a slightly more intense buildup in the instrumental break, but no where near as peaked as what the Dead went for.

A nice spacey jam headed out for a few minutes, then back into the 'Scarlet Coda' as the Philzone lists call it, followed by the immediate beginning of Fire. Mickey doesn't rap this song, by the way. He does what he thinks is singing..... I noticed he did refrain from joining in the chorus with the others. Fire was good, nothing special, nothing horrible. As soon as the last chorus ended, the band stopped dead without any jam. As somebody else said, I was expecting the Playin' Reprise to end the set & figured that's why the 'Scarlet Coda' was done prior to Fire, but a few folks told me it was the norm for TOO's to do it that way.

So, what can one say about a first set that starts with St Stephen > The Eleven & includes Playin', UBC, & Scarlet > Fire? Not much except it left little to be desired & was the best 1st set of the 4 TOO's shows I saw (MSG, Hartford, Boston 11-19).

Yeah, I get pissed everytime I hear Dark Star & Terrapin....oh, wait, those are 2 of my favorite tunes....and both 12/6 & 12/31 were fantastic shows w/ subtle and less-subtle differences....listen to the music play....! I get bugged when ppl judge who weren't even there. And whoever said that the Stella wasn't any good--I'm sorry you don't get it. That was a huge highlight of the night and brought many smiles and hugs from where we were.

If you were at the show, I doubt if you were complaining about a damn thing. If you were, you were just in the wrong space, 'cause it was awesome from viantage point. I had actually wanted to hear Throwing Stones. Wish I could remember it. Seems like a strange choice coming out of Terrapin though.

Saw Chicago then NYE show...definitly not complaining about the 2 St.Stephen>Eleven & Unbroken Chains I saw within a 8 song stretch over 2 shows...out of the six shows I saw this year(PLF & TOO) I got 3 Unbroken Chains and 3 St.Stephens...complain??...why???

I have to say that NYE was one of the top 10 concerts experiences of my life. Sure musically I have heard better but the eoverall package was amazing. These guys put 110% into in and at their age they outlasted most people in that coliseum. That in itself speaks volumes. I really thought that bobby put so much heart and soul into baby blue and not being a bobby fan I was truly impressed. Any one else feel the same? Am still glowing and so thankful to be alive in these wild and crazy times.

oh i feel that what the band put out was all in all very satisfying. i thought the st stephen was well placed since the general approach i felt by the band was "....let's pull out all the stops tonight". If what i hear about bob & phil putting thier feet up on the drum rise happened with Jeff, Rob, and Jimmy looking on with smiles...then i a privleged. the vibe in the venue on the part of the heads was good as i would expect. very nice end to a very fast year.

At midnight the balloons came down & the sweet sound of Sugar Mag at midnight rose up........

The lead-in went on & on, about 2-3 minutes. Every time I thought they'd start singing, they just went back & jammed it out some more.

Bob got through the lyrics without a muff, & hardly a touch of his 'Alright Now' beginning to the instrumental.

The jam at the end was very good, with Bob throwing out some of those climactic 'dunt dunt di dun' build-ups at the end. Jimmy was still going off when Phil, of all people, stopped the instrumental. Either Jimmy has to learn to 'hit the peak' quicker or the other guys need to play longer. Seeing as it was as long an instrumental as most that the Dead did for 25 years, I'd say it's Jimmy. Still, it was very good & better than MSG.

I was surprised by Sunshine Daydream, & it was a mere afterthought, with a very short instrumental. This was followed by a little noodle, but not the typical bluesy one like MSG or Alpine (I think), which led into the Shakedown I was expecting to open either set all day......

This version was faster than the MSG one (sorry, but pre-drums will often be compared to MSG as all 4 songs were played at both). The pace was about like the (almost always) great 1981 versions. Shakedown was structured as usual: Short instrumental, followed by a longer one that goes through the basic melody twice. Then the funky vocalizing, none of the 'Shake-a-down down' stuff, which, btw, I had heard while on Fisherman's Wharf the night before by some cover band playing The Ohio Players' 'Brick House' (So much for Lionel Ritchie).

They did a 3-4 minute jam in the wah-wah guitar style, then started singing "Shake-a-down down". After that, another instrumental led out of Shakedown & wandered about to where I expected another song, only to have the band go back into another final Shakedown vocalizing. An excellent version, I'd say at least 15 minutes or more.

Then, another short noodle, & Cryptical. I know I have a reputation as an Other One freak - deservedly so - but I hadn't even thought of the possibility of hearing TOO that night. It just slipped my mind.

Cryptical was the standard version for nowadays, Jimmy did a nice jam at the end with a little higher peak than MSG, which once again reminded me that if the band would just try, they could do a fair replica of the huge, spiralling jam at the end of That's It For The Other One, circa 1969-70. Oh, well, maybe someday.....

Just like MSG, there was no transition into TOO, just a 'stop one song, start the other song' deal. The Other One really defies any 'play by play'. It was just one "frenzy of noise" (sound, I mean) as I told Mrs B. Everyone was just playing as hard as they could. No, quiet parts, spaces or noodles, just intensely ferocious. The absolute high point of a night full of highlights. Two verses, with Bob waiting the appropriate amount of times through the basic rythym before singing (4). Then, a little noodle of maybe 30 seconds to a minute into the drums.

This section of music, was 40 minutes &, as I told MRS B. as we made our way to the bathrooms, the most energetic piece of music I've seen in a long time. I said "They seemed posessed by the music, like the music played the band."

We made it back from the very close & (surprisingly) very empty bathrooms in a couple minutes or so. By then, Mickey was banging on the big drums hanging on the racks, literally shaking the place. Very nice. Then, Mickey went to the beam & produced some great feedback.

Then, the space. It was long, maybe 8-10 minutes, & was very good, much more on a level with Boston 11-19 than the lackluster space in Hartford or the very short MSG space.

At one point, Jimmy fooled around with The Spanish Jam a little, then there was a short Playin' Reprise quote.

It got very still, then Terrapin. This seemed a bit forced, but let's be honest: Smooth, fluid transitions by the Dead & their various side bands stopped a long time ago, like 1980-something......

This was the first song I was disappointed in hearing (you must know me by now). However, it was great. The standard, same as always Terrapin until the longer instrumental (therein lies my dislike for it). This instrumental saw the return of the frenzy of noise. They were all just going wild, there may have been a hint of The Other One - or is that just the basic sound?

Then, they headed into "Since the end is never told".....

Just before "Inspiration", Phil started playing the basic bass line to Dark Star. Not the opening, but what he plays right before they sing. Very much like P&F versions in late 2000-early 2001. They jammed a few minutes, the most inspired first instrumental of the 3 Dark Stars I saw TOO's do, then sang verse one, & jammed Dark Star a few more very sweet minutes before spacing out into what I figured was the next song splitting the verses. Then, Phil was leading the band back into verse 2..... They sang it with the new vocalized ending, jammed a bit more on Dark Star, then forced it into "Inspiration".

A pretty typical post-Terrapin jam ensued & led into an extended space jam that usually proceeds the Playin' Reprise.

Just when it got quiet & I was ready to hear the Playin' Reprise, Throwing Stones struck (again). To me, there's a BIG difference between Throwing Stones AFTER Sugar Mag & Throwing Stones INSTEAD of Sugar Mag, which happened to me about 20 times since 1982.

It was a decent version, nothing special. The vocals went on so long I thought they had done away with any instrumentals, especially when Bob started singing "On our own, on our own" over & over.....

Then, they DID do a short jam, then some more singing & a longer instrumental, in which Bob cut Jimmy short for the only time all night.

NFA came quickly on the heels of the last verse, even before Bob sang the last line. Not bad, not great. A nice jam near the end, but no match for a good P&F version either.

They ended with the usual vocal ending, but thankfully, everyone, including the drummers left quickly & cut the audience off.

A great set, an hour & fifty minutes, & not a sleepy or flat moment in it, & mostly great.

After 5 minutes, they were back out for the encores.

Contrary to what I read previously here, there was no jam that lead into Caution. Phil BEGAN the Caution jam immediately out of nothing. Phil dropping Caution bombs, Jimmy playing some fast leads - but no real double time - & just when I thought they'd start singing, it was gone & GDTRFB was there, then, a bit later, I Know You Rider. At this point, I thought maybe they'd do a 'medley' of Dead tunes followed by a Playin' Reprise, but they started singing IKYR.....

It was a short but high energy version.

Then, it got dark & I thought the show was over.

Instead, they started this song...... What's that? I thought. "Oh, yeah, a Phil song.....uh,..... No More Do I."

It was good, then followed by some totally unrecognizable song. Dan said "Queen Jane." Well, if you ask me, it could've been.

It was Baby Blue. No biggie. I felt it had a 'rough' edge & suffered from the soft touch of Jerry's voice. But, by now, I was thinking "I'm drained. I wonder how THEY feel."

I thought that was it. I felt Phil was saying "Don't forget about Phil & Friends, we'll be back." & Bob was saying, 'TOO's are done - For now."

Then, it got quiet, & Stella. Who cared by now. As I've said before, a great encore can't save a bad show, & a bad encore can't ruin a great show. Especially if it's the 5th encore.....

Anyways, they were going to finish Playin' after it, right? Wrong.

Now, I don't know if this Stella was similar to Albany, but it must have been 6-7 minutes & was simply Stella being played without lyrics. No improv, no jam at the end that can build up. No biggie. The most interesting thing was that 3 times, Jimmy played a note or series of notes that started as Dark Star & ended as Stella.

My impressions of the show:

Phil was dropping huge bombs from the 2nd set on.

Rob was extremely inspired in his playing all night.

There was a tremendous amount of energy in the 2nd set.

The setlist from the git-go left nothing to be desired.

It was a great show, probably the best of the 4 TOO's I saw. Make that definitely.

Beautiful for sure. We REALLY enjoyed our visit. Not sure moving is logistically possible. Would be great to make it a yearly pilgrimage at least...

Couldn't possilby add any more to the review than my esteemed husband has already said. The show was quite special. As was spending time away alone to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the day we met (NYE 1981/82) and to be away from all of life's stresses. GREAT to spend time with our Philzone friends - as always. Thanks to SJF and Kate for our personal tour of the city & Marin. We're always happy to hook up with Dan who managed to spot us in a rental car in the parking lot - and who was responsible for finding us some prime sets where the accoustics were very fine. Also special to meet TaperRob (and have the privilege to hear his recording of the NYE show the next day) and also to meet Tina (thanks for the great New Years Brunch!). Sorry to have missed meeting all you West Coast Zoners - especially Charlie Miller! Maybe next Year??

A perfect mix of tradition and novelty. On a personal note, it was one of the most enjoyably relaxed shows I've ever had, and I spent it with the two people who I've seen the most shows with in my life. The Stephen> Eleven > JStraw opener made it clear the warhorses would lead the way all night. We just hung on for dear life... Scarlet actually started out of the Playin' jam sounding like Fire. "Playin> Fire" we said outloud just to hear how those words sound... Oops! Make that "Playin' > Scarlet > Fire!" Even better!

During the "Trivia Contest" they set up a mike to Bobby's left. We all speculated... "Susan Tedeschi?" "Jorma?" "Hunter?"... but no one ever came out to use it. Hmmmmm... no one that we could see, anyway. Maybe that Stella wasn't "instrumental" after all...

Let me not forget to send a extra special THANKS to Keyshawn who insisted on driving us to the Airport & home again. You had to deal with being out real late work nite - alot of traffic, as well as an ice storm when we got back. We really appreciate it - you are the best. Much thanks.

P AND F (personal pet peeve there) have had their share of 'unspecial' moments since Fall 2001 - let's be honest.

I just judge the shows by the 'eargasm' test: Did I acheive eargasm, i.e. felt a euphoric high based on the music & not drugs? With me, it's like Siskel & Ebert - 'Thumbs up' or 'thumbs down'. No "I liked this", "That was OK", "That was flat, but I enjoyed being at the show anyways". A good moment or few moments isn't enough......

And in that light, 3 out of 4 P&F shows I saw this year & 3 out of 4 TOO's shows I saw made the cut.

you people are awful critical. You should be happy for what we have been so blessed to see, listen and experience in all the years combined. How dare you be so harsh and unkind in all regards with your lame at best reviews of the shows. It is a grate big wheel which consists of many spokes and it requires all cylinders to fire in order to keep covering just a little more ground. Little is very relative! Be kind peole and grateful. Treat the family well. PEACE in 2003